Two Fall River men are accused of stealing copper piping from the former Abbey Grill on Wednesday.

Police arrested Duarte Manuel Benevides, 30, of 48 Barclay St., and James Laraia, 34, of 294 E. Main St., on charges of larceny from a building and vandalizing property.

Around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, an off-duty New Bedford police officer said he saw the men removing 5-foot-long pieces of copper piping from the former Abbey Grill, 100 Rock St., and putting them inside a vehicle’s trunk. The officer followed their vehicle as he notified Fall River police officers, Fall River Detective JD Costa said.

Fall River Officer Joe Kubicek and other officers stopped the vehicle at South Main and Freedom streets. Kubicek saw piping made of patina copper — copper with an artificial oxidized finish — in the vehicle’s backseat. More piping was found in the trunk, Costa said.

Police spoke with the Abbey Grill’s owner, who told officers that Benevides was working on the building’s ongoing renovations, but that Benevides did not have permission to take the copper piping, according

to Costa.

Benevides, who also had an outstanding fugitive from justice warrant, and Laraia are expected to be arraigned today in Fall River District Court.